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Live: Sydney FC v Melbourne Heart

Dominic Bossi

POST-MATCH NEWS: The Sky Blues remain at the bottom of the A-League table and there is an injury concern for Alessandro Del Piero, but there is a sense of relief here at Allianz Stadium after the club's first good performance in five games. Frank Farina will feel that the mountain of the task that he signed on for has just become slightly easier. Thank you for tuning in and following Fairfax Media's live blog of the game.

MATCH WRAP: Sydney FC may not have gained the three points that they desperately need but there was plenty to be positive about. Hagi Gligor and Vedran Janjetovic impressed in their first A-League starts and have made good cases for selection in future games. The partnership of Adam Griffiths and Pascal Bosschaart looks to have strengthened as they held out for their first clean sheet since beating Western Sydney Wanderers in round three.

Yairo Yau caused havoc for Melbourne Heart's defence but he was too excited infront of goal and lacked the composure that he had in previous games. Terry McFlynn was booed off the ground in previous home games but he received a standing ovation from the fans as he headed to the tunnel.

The captain has proved in todays game that, for now, he still deserves the armband. Simon Colosimo has become the latest player to criticise the playing surface at Allianz Stadium in a sign that pitch hasn't fully recovered from the two Coldplay concerts a fortnight ago.

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Full time: Referee Strebre Delovski blows the final whistle as Sydney FC stop the rot to end their four-match losing streak. Both teams played positive attacking football but they will be disappointed that they couldn't capitalise on their chances. SYDNEY 0 HEART 0.

89th min: Yairo Yau receives a long ball and darts into space. The Panamanian fires a long range shot but the ball seemed to bobble as he struck it and his shot spun well-wide of the goal.

87th min: An over-zealous challenge by Jason Culina gives away a free kick in the middle of the park. The ball is lofted high into the box and a goal mouth scramble is eventually cleared by Sydney's defence. Still SYDNEY 0 HEART 0.

86th min: A poor pass by Pascal Bosschaart allows the Heart to launch a counter attack. Fred finds David Williams in space on the left flank but the winger failed to end his poor showing in front of goal today and his effort sails high and wide.

84th min: Heart youngster Jeremy Walker looks to have pulled his groin muscle and is limping around in the back line. At the other end, substitute Dylan Macallister becomes the next player to spurn a chance to take the opener as his first touch was too powerful and falls into the arms of Vedran Janjetovic.

80th min: Fabio gives away a foul for a strong challenge from behind and then climbs on top of Fred to deny an early take of the free kick. His crime goes unpunished by Strebre Delovski, who may have left his cards at home today.

78th min: Jason Culina's arrival has steadied Sydney FC's midfield and the hosts seem much more composed as the game heads into the final ten minutes. Ali Abbas has begun to roam forward and wide defenders Fabio and Rhyan Grant continue to overlap down the wings.

77th min: Fabio bursts into the box for Sydney FC and hits a powerful low cross but somehow it evades all three forwards lining up in the box.

73rd min: Ben Garuccio is in pain after a crunching Fabio Alves tackle. The youngster looked to have rolled his ankle and is receiving treatment from the club's medical staff on the sideline. A worrying sign for the visitors.

68th min: Del Piero is replaced by Blake Powell and Sydney's marquee man labours to the sideline. He's taken a lot of hits and never looked fully fit after receiving a bruising challenge early in the second half.

66th min: Only minutes later, Del Piero was gifted another chance from a set piece. It was further out and positioned centrally but it was an almost perfect shot. His powerful effort swerved and deceived Bolton, who could only spill the ball into the middle of the box. His blushes were spared when his teammate cleared the ball to safety.

63rd min: Del Piero will have another chance to score from a set piece after Gerhardt brought down the former Juventus captain. Free kick is from a good distance and a great angle for a right footed player but unfortunately Del Piero struck it as if he was taking a rugby union conversion, not a football shot.

60th min: Rhyan Grant surges forward from out wide and fires a fierce left-footed drive on goal that beats Clint Bolton, but not the crossbar. Somehow this game is still goalless. On another day, it could easily have been 4-4 by now.

59th min: The crowd is standing on their feet and cheering the imminent arrival of Jason Culina. The former Socceroo has taken off his bib and is about to come on for his second appearance since his long stint on the sidelines.

57th min: Janjetovic pulls off a fantastic save with his trailing arm to deny Fred a goal from long range.

55th min: Samuel Mitchinson throws his body on the line to prevent a certain goal for Sydney FC. Del Piero jinks past a Heart defender to put in a flat cross for Yairo Yau on the goal line, but he was beaten to the ball by an outstretched Mitchinson.

53rd min: The crowd figure here at Allianz Stadium has just come in. 12,425 in attendance. Sydney need to return to winning ways to get the fans through the turnstiles.

51st min: Janjetovic escapes being punished for a sloppy error when he was beaten to the ball by Williams. The Heart winger shoots with the outside of his right foot and his shot shaves the upright. Score is still 0-0

49th min: David Williams has another good chance to give Heart the lead but his weak shot was deflected for a corner. Josip Tadic acrobatically latches onto the resulting corner but shoots over the bar.

46th min: Yairo Yau accelerates to leave Heart defender Jeremy Walker in his wake but he was impeded just as he approached the box. Delovski gives Walker a yellow card but replays show that Yau may have tripped himself up. Del Piero takes the resulting freekick and unleashes a fierce shot that forces a reflex save from Bolton.

Frank Farina said before the match that he would likely remain a passive observer from the stands but he's come into the dressing rooms to lead the half-time team talk.

Half-time wrap: They may be two teams struggling in the A-League but Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC are not playing like cellar dwellers today. There is a sense of composure among both teams and a willingness to play patient yet positive football. That said, a number of wasted chances in front of goal could indicate a lack of confidence.

With both teams playing a similar formation with three in the middle, there is a great battle in the midfield emerging. Seventeen-year-olds Hagi Gligor and Ben Garuccio have been very impressive and have put in performances that some veterans could learn from. Sydney captain Terry McFlynn has received a lot of criticism for his recent form but he has put in a tough shift in the first half that may well justify his selection in the future with incoming coach Frank Farina watching from the stands. This game is very delicately balanced and an early goal in the second half could ignite an all-out attacking battle. Watch this space.

45th min: The referee blows his whistle and the crowd responds with a loud applause after watching their team play a positive half of football.

42nd min: A real arm-wrestle has emerged in the midfield and Jason Hoffman showed his frustration by pulling Ali Abbas from behind. Hoffman was perhaps lucky to escape being booked when he prevented an early take of the free kick by standing over the ball.

39th min: Melbourne Heart immediately hit back and a Fred finds David Williams in space on the left. The winger takes a shot on his left foot but he failed to test Janjetovic.

38th min: Sydney FC continue their onslaught and Rhyan Grant spurs a great chance to give the hosts the lead. Grant latches on to a blocked Chianese shot inside the box and takes a first time shot on his less favoured left foot but shoots high over the bar.

33rd min: The crowd holds their breath as Del Piero steps up to take the shot. He hits it hard and clean but it doesn't have enough of a dip to tuck under the crossbar. Clint Bolton has a sigh of relief.

32nd min: A darting run by Alessandro Del Piero beats three Heart defenders and draws two fouls but the Italian stays on his feet to lead the attack. Referee Strebre Delovski blows his whistle to bring the ball back for a free kick in a similar position to where Del Piero scored from against Newcastle Jets.

29th min: David Williams leads a Heart counter-attack and whips in another low cross to Josip Tadic but debutant Vedran Janjetovic comfortably intercepts the ball.

26th min: Fred narrowly escapes becoming the first player to go into the book after a late and rough tackle from behind on Alessandro Del Piero. The Italian takes the resulting free kick from 30-metres out but Simon Colosimo clears the ball behind for a corner.

21st min: Melbourne Heart have a great vision of the game and their defenders are playing some impressive through balls, but a lack of communication with their strikers has caused most long passes to go straight through to Vedran Janjetovic in the Sydney goal.

18th min: Del Piero has dropped into the hole behind the strikers and is creating a lot fo space for Sydney's strikers. The nimble Italian weaved away from two Heart defenders and picked out the run of Yau, but his first touch ended the attack.

14th min: Panamanian winger Yairo Yau brings the crowd to their feet when he bursts into space and runs through from out wide. Yau failed to replicate his rich goalscoring form by shooting narrowly over the crossbar.

10th min: The Sky Blues are beginning to play some expansive football and are finding a lot of space down the flanks. Yairo Yau and Fabio are linking up well on the left while Rhyan Grant is overlapping Joel Chianese on the right touchline to cause problems for Heart defender Samuel Mitchinson.

9th min: An impressive fluid move by Sydney FC gives Chianese a chance on goal. Chianese leaped high to latch on to a deep cross but headed wide of goal.

6th min: Josip Tadic blows a great chance to give the visitors the lead. Williams crossed the ball low to Tadic, who squeezed between two Sydney defenders and sent the ball sailing over the bar despite being only metres away from goal.

5th min: Hagi Gligor releases Joel Chianese down the right flank and he beat Samuel Mitchinson with a burst of pace. Though, the Heart youngster was ruled to have pulled the shirt of Chianese and gave away a foul outside the box near the sideline. Del Piero whipped in the ball but Heart goalkeeper Clint Bolton rose unchallenged to punch the ball clear.

2nd min: A tussle between Rhyan Grant and David Williams gives the Heart an early opportunity from a set piece. WIlliams takes the free kick but failed to clear Sydney's first defender, Ali Abbas.

UNDERWAY: Melbourne Heart kick off to get this contest underway. Steve Corica's final chance to end his stint as care taker coach with points has began. There's a small crowd here at Allianz Stadium but the referee's whistle elicits a loud roar from Sydney's faithful.

Today's match is also the first start for Sydney's promising youngster, Hagi Gligor. The 17 year-old has impressed in youth ranks and friendly matches and has been selected at the expense of the more experienced Paul Reid.

WEATHER NEWS? Sydney FC slick the pitch by turning the sprinkler systems on but perhaps they should've warned Fox Sports commentators Andy Harper and Mel McLaughlin, who received a shower while previewing the match in the middle of the field.

MELBOURNE HEART NEWS: Coach John Aloisi has put his faith in a number of youngsters who have been thrusted into the starting XI. Ben Garuccio, Samuel Mitchinson and Jeremy Walker start in place of the trio of Heart players away with the Socceroos.

SYDNEY FC NEWS: Young goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic will start his first ever A-League game with Ivan Necevski dropped to the bench. Necevski has seen 16 goals fly past him in the last four games and it appears the coaching staff has lost patience with the keeper. Janjetovic will become the 100th player to wear the sky blue shirt as he makes his debut.

PREVIEW: Sydney FC have never won against Melbourne Heart and while they will start this match on the back of a four-match losing streak, there is a sense of optimism that they will break their hoodoo today.

The Heart are without three influential players with Aziz Behich, Michael Marrone and Richard Garcia away on international duty, which could expose the visitors.

Frank Farina arrived back in the Harbour City on Friday night to steer the Sky Blues season back on track but the former Socceroos boss will be watching this match from the stands.

Steve Corica will lead Sydney for the last of his three-match interim stint as coach before Farina officially takes the reigns on Monday.

2 comments so far

It's good to see The Age actually covering the game although it's probably from the SMH. Nothing in the paper, iPad edition or on-line today. Poor from The Age

Commenter

Michael

Date and time

December 02, 2012, 5:58PM

This is terrific coverage. I am at work and during the odd break I can do a quick "catch-up" on proceedings. Well done SMH and The Age. Terrific. GO HEART.